Pain is an inexorable part of everybody’s life, not just a writer’s. But I’d never glamorise it. I’ve experienced as much pain or happiness as the next man. A creative person uses it in his work as a source of inspiration.
– Javed Akhtar

Discussing religion was like discussing which cave will be better to live. If you want to follow a religion, follow any religion. It does not matter. If you have decided to commit suicide, does it matter how you do it?
– Javed Akhtar

I’m aware that film-making is a collaborative effort, it’s team-work. But I can’t be loyal to a team at the cost of my aesthetic sense or morality. I would rather walk-out. In such situations, I’ve always walked out and wondered what makes people so gutless. Why can’t they take a stand? There’s a Laxman rekha which I will not cross.
– Javed Akhtar

Today, putting one’s self before others is cool. But yes, there are no wars to be fought, no ideals to be chased. There are no collective dreams, collective aspirations or resolutions. And that shows in our films. To each his own is the new mantra.
– Javed Akhtar

A good relationship is one where you are not the centrifugal point and your partner is not a satellite. I mistrust love without respect. There are a lot of couples who claim to be in love but have zero respect for each other. That’s not the real thing.
– Javed Akhtar

I wasn’t a “father” in the conventional sense of the word. Traditionally, fathers and sons have never had a communicative relationship. But Farhan, Zoya and I have had a very democratic relationship. There’s nothing in the world they can’t discuss with me. My kids can be very argumentative.Democracy has its own problems.
– Javed Akhtar